Children’s Liturgy

Take a look at some examples of recent Children’s Liturgy activities

Children’s Liturgy at St Edmund’s
At St Edmund’s, we offer Children’s Liturgy every Sunday except during August and on those Sundays when we have Family Mass or on special occasions such as Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and First Holy Communion. At St Thomas More in Harleston Children’s Liturgy is arranged by Emily Rogers and Clare Foster-Clarke (see Parish Directory for details).

What it’s all about
The purpose of Children’s Liturgy is to encourage the children to participate fully in the Mass, to nurture their relationship with God and to introduce them to other children in the parish community.

Children’s Liturgy is actually the Liturgy of the Word for children. We cover the Gospel of the day at a level the children can understand and enjoy. Following the reading, we use a mix of discussion, prayers, songs, role play, drawing and crafts to bring the meaning of the Gospel story to life.

Note: Although these activities can be fun, we are careful to make the connection between the activity and the message of the Gospel reading. In this way, the focus is on the Word, not on the activity.

Age Group
Children’s Liturgy is primarily aimed at younger children, up to their First Holy Communion. However, some older children continue to join us, often giving a hand with activities, and are welcomed.

There is no minimum age for accompanied children. If you would like to accompany your child but also have a babe in arms, no problem – you are all welcome.

You are very welcome to accompany your child until he/she feels confident to attend alone or under the supervision of the Leader or Helper. As children become familiar with the format, we find they enjoy the independence of attending with their new community friends and this also allows parents to focus on Mass without distraction.

Organisation
Children’s Liturgy takes place in the church hall.  The children are led out by the Leader and Helper shortly after the beginning of Sunday Mass and return to the church during the Offertory, when they join the congregation for the remainder of Mass.

Children’s Liturgy is run by a rota of Leaders and Helpers from the parish, all of whom have been DBS (CRB) checked. Right now, we’re looking for more people to join our rota so, if you are interested in giving a hand, please have a word with Fr Charles or with Jenny Beaugeard, who co-ordinates the rota.

If you have any questions regarding Children’s Liturgy or ideas on how we can improve it, we’d love to hear from you.   You can contact Jenny Beaugeard via email: jenny.beaugeard@gmail.com

The rota for the coming year is given below.  NB: This is subject to minor change, depending on holiday arrangements, illness etc.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY ROTA – AUTUMN 2017 TO SUMMER 2018

Leaders: Jenny Beaugeard; Frances Fairbairn-Harvey; Helen Kirby; Alexandra Muir.

Helpers: Sonia Montagu; Anna Thatcher; Frances Mann; Caroline Coles.